Double Action
by hester4418
Summary: The theory of parallel universes states that every decision, no matter how insignificant, can cause the splitting off of a new universe. To kiss or not to kiss – that is the question...


DISCLAIMER: _Star Trek: The Next Generation _and all its characters belong to Paramount Pictures; no infringement of copyright is intended. The story however belongs to me.

PUBLICATION HISTORY: originally written October 1995-January 1996; first published July 1996; republished here October 2012 with some edits throughout

**Double Action****  
****by Hester (hester4418)**

The doorchime sounded.

"Come." The captain's brisk command acted as a key, and the door to his quarters yielded obediently.

Beverly Crusher entered, dressed in a casual skirt and blouse, her hair held up by a silver comb. She headed straight for the dinner table where the captain was already waiting for her.

"Sorry I'm late." She sat down and smiled at him apologetically. "I had quite a hectic day in sickbay, and I didn't want to come here without at least taking a shower."

"No apology necessary, Doctor." Picard smiled at her broadly. "I'm glad you could make it at all. There've been far too many times when your duties have kept you for the better part of the night."

She laughed. "That's a common doctor's fate, didn't you know that? Sometimes I get the feeling that I spend more time in sickbay than anywhere else."

He regarded her knowingly. "You do. Maybe you should take some more time off to relax."

"Hey, what's that I hear?" Her eyes twinkled merrily. "That's my line, don't you dare use it against me!"

"Just a touch of your own medicine." He indicated her plate. "You should start eating before everything gets cold."

"Good idea, I'm absolutely starved." Crusher picked up her fork and tried a first bite. "This is delicious. What is it?"

"One of my mother's specialties. Every year on their wedding anniversary, my mother would cook this dish, and my father would open the first bottle of the year's wine." He smiled at the recollection. "It was always one of the happiest days of the year."

"My grandmother had a similar ritual," Crusher said quietly. "Every year on the day my parents died, she would cook anything I wanted, and then we would look at the old pictures of them and me as a baby. She would tell me stories about them, and about how much they loved me. I loved those stories." She wiped at her eyes, willing the tears to stay back. "On no other day of the year did I ever learn so much about my parents as on the anniversary of their deaths."

"It must have been hard on you," he remarked, his voice low.

"Oh, it wasn't all sad. We laughed a lot, especially when my grandmother scolded me for being just as wild as my mother had been as a child. Actually, those days are among the happiest memories of my childhood."

"I'm glad for you." He lifted his glass in a toast. "To happy memories, and our parents."

Their glasses clinked, and they continued their meal. Afterwards, they moved over to the sofa, enjoying light conversation, interspersed with periods of comfortable silence. At some point Crusher rose and went over to the window. The stars appeared especially clear that night, and she marveled at the beauty of the small points of light against the backdrop of black space. Sighing, she turned around, only to find Picard standing directly behind her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing the startled look in her eyes, but she just shook her head. His eyes seemed to speak to her, trying to tell her something she did not understand, but his voice remained silent.

_Kiss him..._ The thought came unbidden, and not for the first time. _Don't you see he's waiting for it? _She took a small step forward, almost ready to listen to her heart instead of reason, but something stopped her. If she did the wrong thing, she might ruin everything between them, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

"I think I should go," she finally managed to say, edging towards the door.

He looked surprised, but did not object. "Thank you for joining me for dinner."

"Thank you for the invitation." Much too formal, but she could not think of anything else to say. "Breakfast tomorrow, as usual?"

"I'll expect you at 0700." He smiled warmly. "Sleep well."

"Good night." She smiled back. Then the doors swooshed shut, and she was gone.

-==/\==-

Not very far away, in fact only separated by the barrier of the space time continuum, Beverly Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard were engaged in a completely different kind of communication. They were kissing deeply, enveloped tightly in each other's embrace.

Beverly's heart raced. She could feel Jean-Luc's strong arms around her, pressing her close to his body. There was just one thought in her mind, one that seemed to run around in circles, coming back to her again and again. _Did I really do that? I can't believe I finally found the courage to let go and just _kiss_ him, instead of finding yet another excuse to escape. And I had no idea what I was missing out on..._

Jean-Luc felt much the same way. It was a mystery to him why Beverly had suddenly decided to kiss him, but the moment their lips touched he forgot everything else. The affection they felt for each other had finally taken over, revealing a love so deep neither of them had known was there.

They slowly gravitated towards his bedroom, neither of them letting go of the other for just one moment. And when they sank down on his bed, all pretense of 'just being friends' was over.

-==/\==-

The next morning after breakfast, Beverly almost had to tear herself out of Jean-Luc's embrace. They both did not want the night to end, wanted it to go on forever.

"Promise me you'll come back tonight," he whispered in her ear when the door slid aside to let her step out into the corridor.

"I promise," she whispered back just as conspicuously, then, after a quick glance around to make sure that nobody could see them, kissed him one last time before heading off towards her own quarters.

Beverly felt electrified from Jean-Luc's touch, her whole skin tingling with the sensation. She still did not know what exactly had made her throw caution to the wind the evening before, but she was glad that she had finally done so. It had opened doors between them that had appeared thoroughly locked before, and now it seemed impossible that they would ever close again.

Arriving at her quarters, Beverly thought she felt the _Enterprise _rock slightly beneath her feet, but quickly dismissed it as part of her over-excited imagination. There were other things she had to think about, in particular how to get through the day without being distracted by too many all too pleasant images from the night that had just passed.

-==/\==-

Crusher left her quarters early that morning, heading for the gym. She tried to tell herself that all she wanted was to get some exercise, but secretly she had to admit that what she really wanted was time to think, before having her usual breakfast with the captain. She still tried to analyze her behavior from the night before, but just could not come up with any explanation. What was it that had kept her again from exploring the path which so easily presented itself? _I really wonder what would have happened if I had kissed him._ She sighed to herself. _Guess I'll never know._

Crusher exercised for half an hour, then went back to her quarters to take a shower. When she at last arrived in front of Picard's cabin, she had made up her mind to just forget what had happened, filing it under 'inexplicable behavior'. She could only hope that he thought about it the same way and would not touch on it again. Inhaling deeply, she activated the doorchime.

Picard treated her as usual, apparently thinking nothing of her quick exit the night before. They had almost finished their breakfast when Commander Riker's voice came over the intercom. "Bridge to Captain Picard."

Picard quickly wiped his mouth with a napkin, then touched his communicator. "This is Picard. Go ahead, Commander."

"Sir, we have arrived at the Watkin's Nebula. The view is spectacular. Maybe you would like to come up and take a look?"

The captain looked over at Crusher, his smile inviting. "This nebula is one of the most fascinating natural phenomena I have ever encountered. Have you ever seen it?"

The doctor shook her head. "I'm afraid I have not."

"Then you shouldn't miss this opportunity. Join me one the bridge for a little while?"

Crusher looked at the chronometer on the wall. "Technically, I'm due in sickbay in ten minutes, but all that's waiting for me there is a load of medical reports." She grinned. "I'd be only too happy to escape from them for a little longer."

"Then it's settled." Picard turned back to his communicator. "Thank you, Number One. Doctor Crusher and I will be right there."

-==/\==-

Sickbay was quiet when Beverly arrived, and she decided to catch up on some paperwork while she had the time. Writing medical reports had never been her favorite occupation, but she acknowledged that it was a necessary part of her job. Besides, on this morning nothing seemed to be able to change her good mood, and she actually found herself humming softly while typing in the dry medical facts. She had finished the first handful of reports when the companel on her desk sounded.

"Sickbay, go ahead."

"Doctor Crusher, this is LaForge. If you have a minute, could you come down to engineering? Lieutenant Kelsey cut her hand on one of the access panels and is bleeding slightly. It's nothing serious, and we can't spare her at the moment, but if you have something to stop the bleeding..."

Beverly rose, deactivating the terminal. "I'll be right there, Geordi." She laughed softly. "You're just in time to rescue me from another round of medical reports."

She could hear the smile in his answer. "Glad to be of service, Doctor. See you in a minute. LaForge out."

-==/\==-

On the bridge, everybody was fascinated by the Watkin's Nebula. It looked like a swirling mass of color, incessantly moving and changing.

Crusher had taken a seat to Troi's left while Picard had settled down in the center command chair. After studying the phenomenon for several minutes, the captain spoke up. "Readings, Mister Data?"

"The radiation from the nebula is interfering with our sensors, Captain, and we are still trying to compensate. So far, the readings are inconclusive, but we should have the first reliable results in about two hours." The android swiveled around to face the captain. "However, there is also evidence of a particle stream emitting from the nebula. We have as yet been unable to determine its origin."

"Keep trying, Commander. In the meantime, record as much as you can for further studies."

Data nodded and turned back to his console.

Picard looked over at Crusher. "Well, Doctor, are my promises holding up to reality?"

"It's fascinating," Crusher agreed, unable to tear her glance from the viewscreen. "What's causing the color changes?"

"That is precisely what we would like to find out. Since the nebula is so far off regular Federation travel routes, there has not been much research on it. We plan to change that."

They sat in silence for another half hour, then Crusher remembered her other duties and finally managed to look at the captain. "It really is beautiful, but I think I had better get down to sickbay now. Unfortunately my medical reports aren't half as colorful as the spectacle out there."

Picard smiled. "You are welcome to come back later, if you like. We won't be leaving for at least another twenty-four hours."

"Thank you, I'll think about it." With that Crusher rose and headed for the turbolift, stealing a last glance at the nebula before the closing doors separated her from the glorious sight.

-==/\==-

Settling behind her desk, Crusher called up the due reports on the computer screen. She was stunned when several of the files listed as completed and ready to be forwarded to Medical Headquarters. Frowning, she opened one of them, then another. It all seemed perfectly in order, everything was written in her own personal style, signed and thumbprinted by 'Beverly Crusher, CMO _USS Enterprise_'; still she could not remember having written any of it.

Doctor Selar passed by outside her office, and Crusher called out to her. "Selar, has anybody used this terminal since I left last night?"

"Nobody but yourself, Doctor," the Vulcan replied. "Is anything wrong?"

"No, no, I was just wondering."

Selar shot her an inquisitive look, but did not ask further.

Crusher leaned back in her chair, running a hand through her hair. _I obviously wrote this, although I can't remember doing it. Maybe I've been sleepwalking? _She finally dismissed the matter and set to work on the remaining reports. Soon she had forgotten all about the mystery.

-==/\==-

In engineering, Beverly was busy patching up Lieutenant Kelsey's hand.

"Geordi, when you said 'She's bleeding slightly', I didn't expect a wound like this. It's quite deep, and bleeding a little more than just 'slightly'."

"Sorry, Doc." Geordi LaForge stood right next to her, a contrite expression on his face. "It really didn't look that bad when I called you."

"You should have come to sickbay with this," Beverly told the young lieutenant.

Kelsey shook her head. "We were in the middle of a complicated set-up, I couldn't leave. Besides, it almost didn't hurt at all."

"There, all done." Beverly put the instrument back into her medikit and closed the latch. "But please be a little more careful next time. And," she added before any of the others could utter a single word, "if anything like this happens again, I want to see you in sickbay, is that understood?"

"Perfectly, Doctor," Kelsey assured her, already turning back to her work. "Oh, and thank you."

"Don't mention it." Beverly gathered her things and turned to leave.

LaForge called after her. "Back to your reports?"

She grimaced as if in pain. "Actually, I think I'll leave them for today. Too much of that stuff can cause severe depression, did you know that?"

He grinned. "That's why engineering reports always make me feel so tired. I knew there had to be a connection."

"You bet." Laughing, Beverly left main engineering, hesitating briefly about where to go. She finally decided to call the bridge.

"Picard here," came the crisp reply. "What can I do for you, Doctor?"

_My, aren't we formal today. _She laughed silently, then tried to make her voice sound as even as possible. "Captain, if you have a minute, I would like to come up to the bridge."

"Whenever you like. The nebula rather turned more spectacular during the last ten minutes or so. You really should come and have a look."

_Nebula? What nebula? _Beverly wondered. Aloud she said, "Thank you, I'll be right there. Crusher out."

Arriving on the bridge, it was all Beverly could do to not openly stare at the spectacle which presented itself on the viewscreen. She sank down in the auxiliary seat to Troi's left, never taking her eyes off the swirling mass of colors. "It's beautiful," was all she could say.

Troi looked at her in surprise. As far as she knew, Beverly had left the bridge less than an hour ago, and her reaction to the nebula now seemed a bit too strong. But since the intensity of the colors as well as the intricacy of the patterns had indeed increased tremendously, Troi quickly dismissed the incident.

After watching the ever changing colors for twenty minutes, Beverly at last remembered her other duties. Picard was standing at one of the aft stations, studying a diagram of the nebula, and she went to stand by his side.

Apparently studying the diagram as well, Beverly leaned close to Picard and whispered in his ear, "I have to go now. You won't forget our dinner tonight, will you?"

He looked at her in surprise, not remembering making any arrangements of that sort. Cautiously, he asked, "Your quarters or mine?" still thinking that maybe she was just teasing him.

She, however, noticed none of his confusion. "I really enjoyed your quarters last night, maybe we should try the same setting again. What do you think?"

Not knowing what to say he just nodded, then watched her disappear inside the turbolift. The last thing he thought he saw of her was a conspicuous wink, but he quickly dismissed that as an optical delusion, caused by the light.

Counselor Troi sensed the captain's confusion, and she suddenly remembered the strange images she had received from Beverly earlier. The doctor seemed different somehow, but Troi could not quite put her finger on it. She decided to try and have a talk with her friend later, then went back to watching the Watkin's Nebula, never growing tired of the sight.

-==/\==-

Crusher leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms. The last of the medical reports was completed, and she was quite pleased about having finished a lot earlier than she had anticipated. She suddenly remembered a series of tests on fast growing herbs which she had set up several days before in the arboretum. Since sickbay seemed to be very quiet today, she decided that she might as well take a break and look after her experiments. Turning the computer screen off, she headed for the door. Nobody saw her leave.

-==/\==-

Several minutes after Crusher had left sickbay, Beverly walked in, heading straight for the lab. She had barely figured out which instruments she needed for her intended experiment, when Nurse Ogawa urgently called her to the main area.

An Andorian male, one of the _Enterprise_'s shopkeepers, sat on one of the diagnostic beds. He was obviously in great pain, and Beverly quickly ran a scanner over him.

"What happened?"

"I wanted to try something different for breakfast," the man gasped, barely able to speak, "so I had some kind of Klingon dish. I forget what it was called. Obviously it didn't agree with me."

"Obviously." Beverly helped him lie down flat on the bed and reached for a hypospray. "It seems that you are violently allergic to one of the ingredients, and your intestines are practically being perforated by the resulting liquid. You came here just in time, but the operation will take quite a while. And the recovery as well."

"Do whatever you have to do, Doctor." The Andorian closed his eyes as Beverly pressed the hypo with the sedative against his neck. "I swear I'll never eat anything Klingon again."

"That would probably be wise," the doctor agreed, but her patient was already unconscious. With Alyssa Ogawa as her assistant, Beverly began the surgery.

-==/\==-

Meanwhile, Crusher was recording the progress of her herbs experiments in the arboretum's botany lab. Since she had set up quite a few series of tests, it took her more than two hours to examine them all. She was almost finished when Deanna Troi walked in.

"Hi, Beverly, I've been looking for you. What are you doing?"

"Hello, Deanna. I'm running some tests on these herbs which a colleague sent to me. Some of the results are actually quite astonishing."

"Really?" Troi took a closer look, but could detect nothing out of the ordinary on the leafy green plants. Leaning against the desk, she casually asked, "By the way, what did you think of the nebula?"

"It was fascinating, wasn't it? And those colors! I don't think I've ever seen anything this beautiful before."

"And the faster changes later on were especially spectacular," Troi prompted, regarding Crusher closely not only with her eyes but also with her emphatic senses, trying to find a clue to her friend's strange behavior earlier.

The doctor however was so absorbed in a detail on one of her plants that she did not really listen. "Yes, they certainly were," she agreed absently, making a note at the same time.

Troi was just about to question her further when her communicator came to life. "Picard to Counselor Troi."

"Troi here."

"Counselor, I'd like to hold a staff meeting in the observation lounge in ten minutes. Commander Data will present his preliminary findings about the Watkin's Nebula."

Crusher was faster to reply than Troi. "Captain, this is Doctor Crusher. Counselor Troi is with me right now, so I heard your announcement. Since I assume that you require my presence at the meeting as well, I'd like to ask that you delay it for ten more minutes. This would give me the time to finish up something I've been working on for the past two hours. Would that be acceptable?"

"Quite acceptable, Doctor. I will expect you and the Counselor in twenty minutes then. Picard out."

Crusher was all business now, not giving Troi the opportunity for more questions. "Well, Deanna, if you could help me put all my little green friends back in their assigned places and cover them with that foil over there, I would greatly appreciate it."

"Certainly." Together, they set to work.

-==/\==-

The surgery took almost three hours, and Beverly spent another hour preparing the report about it and reading up on similar cases in several medical journals. Then she turned the computer screen off, determined not to write any more reports today. She needed a break, so she finally decided to go down to the family quarters and check on some recent patients and new-born babies. She could have done this through the intercom, but she actually preferred visiting the families in person and getting a first-hand impression on how they coped with life on the starship. She briefly remembered wanting to check on some experiments in the arboretum, but postponed it till the next day.

Only seconds after Beverly had disappeared behind a bend in the corridor leading away from sickbay, Crusher approached from the other direction, returning from the staff meeting. Data had been as thorough as always, so it had taken longer than she had anticipated. She headed straight for the lab, where she wanted to run some tests to confirm the results of her herbs experiments. When she passed the bed of the now peacefully sleeping Andorian, she briefly stopped to look at the information on the panels above his head. Satisfied with the readings and assuming that it had been Doctor Selar who had taken care of the surgery and everything else that needed to be done for the moment, she continued on her way to the lab. Those new experiments would give her something to do till the end of her shift.

-==/\==-

Two hours later, Crusher entered her quarters and disappeared in her bedroom. Two minutes later, Beverly likewise entered the cabin, but went over to her computer terminal first, to check for personal messages. Then she, too, headed for the bedroom.

Right at that moment, Crusher was about to return to the cabin's living area. The two women met at the threshold to the bedroom, both stopping dead in their tracks when catching sight of each other.

They stood in silence for several moments, too shocked to speak, each questioning her sanity. Then Beverly reached out a hand.

Crusher caught it, holding on tight. "I'm real, rest assured. But are you?"

"I certainly hope so." Beverly laughed shakily.

Crusher regarded her suspiciously. "How long have you been on board?"

"What do you mean, 'how long have _I_ been on board'? How do I know it's not _you _who's the intruder here?" Beverly reached into the pocket of her labcoat and produced a tricorder. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not, if you don't?" Crusher took out her own device. They scanned each other thoroughly, both double-checking their readings. The results did not help to solve the mystery.

"Looks like we're both real, all right. And we're both Beverly Crusher. But which one of us is on the wrong ship?"

"Or in the wrong universe, is that what you think?"

Beverly nodded slowly.

Crusher reached for Beverly's hand and pulled her over to the sofa. "Let's sit down and discuss this. Like, what did you do today?"

Beverly settled comfortably into the cushions and studied her counterpart. "Don't you think it's strange that we didn't meet until now?"

Crusher shrugged. "Lucky coincidence, I guess. So tell me, what was the first thing you did this morning?"

"After arriving in sickbay? I set to work on those overdue medical reports, until Geordi rescued me with a call from engineering."

"Then it was you who completed the reports!" Crusher exclaimed, suddenly understanding. "I knew it hadn't been me, although my name was all over the files." With a smile she added, "I did the rest of them later today."

Beverly suddenly groaned. "You mean, whoever of us does not belong on this ship will have to do those reports all over again? In that case, I certainly hope it's not me!"

"Don't worry, I'll provide you with a copy!" Crusher grinned, and they both broke out in laughter.

After calming down a bit, Beverly suggested, "Maybe we should try to make sure who's universe this really is. And when the other of us got here."

"Good idea." Crusher nodded, then addressed the ship's computer. "Computer, how many individuals are currently on board the _Enterprise_?"

"One thousand and twenty-four," the computer's impersonal voice replied.

"And how many were there, say, twenty-four hours ago?"

"One thousand and twenty-three."

"So it must have happened sometime between last night and this morning."

Beverly nodded, then addressed the computer herself. "Computer, when was the last time anybody came aboard?"

"Today at 0747 hours."

Suddenly Crusher sat up straight. "Then it can't be me. I was having breakfast with the captain at that time. But where were you?"

"I was here..." Beverly's voice trailed off as she tried to recall the precise moment. "I remember feeling a slight tremor the moment I came in. I thought it was just my imagination, but it must have been then that something shifted." Then she remembered something else. "Beverly, what did you do last night?"

Crusher was surprised. "Why?"

"It may be important for how this could happen. Our lives must have been exactly the same until some point between last afternoon and this morning. Just think of the reports we both left unfinished until today, although some of them were due a week ago. I would like to know exactly when our two universes got separated – and why."

"You're right, it may be important. It may also help to find a way to get you back to your _Enterprise_." Crusher leaned back. "Last night I had dinner with Jean-Luc. We ate something he called 'one of his mother's specialties', which reminded him of his parents' wedding anniversary. I told him about my parents and how Nana would tell me stories about them on the anniversary of their deaths." She looked over at Beverly questioningly.

The woman merely nodded, so Crusher went on. "After dinner, we went over to the couch, had a drink and talked. At some point, I went to look out the window and then –" She broke off.

Beverly leaned forward eagerly. "Then what?"

Crusher shrugged. "Nothing. We said good night and I left."

"You left..." Understanding dawned on Beverly's face as she regarded her double. Suddenly she knew why the captain had reacted so surprised when she had reminded him of their dinner date.

Crusher regarded her curiously. "Do you mean you didn't –" Abruptly, comprehension hit her with a force that would have made her stagger, had she been standing. She stared at Beverly, eyes wide with surprise. Her thoughts raced. "You –"

Beverly cut her off. "Yes. I kissed him." Her eyes shone with the recollection. "You should have, too."

"But why?" Crusher still couldn't believe what this woman – herself – was telling her.

"Why?" Beverly laughed. "I would tell you if I knew, but I don't. Just as much as you don't know why you didn't, right?"

Crusher nodded, slowly regaining her ability to think straight. "What happened?"

"After I kissed him? Well, he kissed me back, and we kissed a little more, and at last we ended up in his bed." She grinned again. "I didn't leave until this morning."

"I wish I'd had the same courage." Crusher sighed.

"But it's not too late!" Beverly grabbed Crusher's hand and pressed it. "Just think about it. You and me, we've only been separated for a couple of hours, and it's the same with him. Whatever my Jean-Luc is feeling for me, yours will be feeling for you as well!"

Hope shone in Crusher's eyes. "Do you really think so?"

"Of course! Look at it this way: Whose advice can you trust if not your own?"

Crusher looked perplexed, then she broke out laughing.

Beverly joined her. "Listen, I set up a dinner with this _Enterprise_'s Jean-Luc today, not knowing that he had no idea what I was talking about. That should be your chance. Do whatever you wanted to do yesterday, and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed."

"Thank you." Crusher smiled at her double warmly. "You don't know how much that means to me."

Beverly returned the smile. "I do. Remember, I love him, too."

Then Crusher's voice took on a more serious note. "We should also think about how to get you back to your own _Enterprise_. Your Jean-Luc will be worried."

"You're right. Maybe if we talk to Data about it?"

Crusher agreed and made the call.

-==/\==-

When Data stepped into the CMO's quarters, he was very surprised to find not one, but two Beverly Crushers waiting for him. They quickly explained what had happened, and Data considered the situation for several seconds. Then he looked up, glancing alternately at both women.

"When we engaged the nebula this morning – at precisely 0747 hours – the _Enterprise_ was enveloped by a part of the cloud for a very short time, which caused a similar effect to a low-level sensor sweep. I immediately reversed the ship's engines, taking us to a safe distance from the nebula. However, this 'sensor sweep', for want of a better term, must have resulted in your," he nodded his head in Beverly's direction, "being dislocated from one universe to the other."

Beverly regarded him thoughtfully. "Is it possible to create a similar incident, so that I can return to where I came from?"

"I cannot tell for certain at this moment, though I should think it possible. For now, we should advise Captain Picard of the situation, and then –"

"Data," Crusher interrupted, "I think I – _we _would like to inform the captain ourselves." She looked to Beverly for confirmation and the other woman nodded, a wicked smile forming on her lips. "So for now, we would appreciate it if as few people as possible would know about this."

"As you wish, Doctor. However, I would like to involve Commander LaForge in finding a solution to this problem, if you do not mind."

"No objection, as long as he doesn't tell the captain, either."

Data rose. "In that case, I believe I should proceed with the investigation immediately. I will let you know as soon as there are any further developments."

"Thank you, Data."

"My pleasure, Doctor. Doctor." Data nodded to each woman in turn and departed.

Beverly leaned back, stretching her arms. "All right, what is your plan?"

"My plan?" Crusher feigned innocence.

"Beverly, I saw that look in your eyes when you told Data not to tell Jean-Luc. I would say you're planning a little... surprise for the captain's dinner tonight?"

Crusher laughed. "I should have known that I can't fool myself. Are you with me?"

"Always." Beverly grinned. "He'll _never _forget this night!"

-==/\==-

Picard was very surprised when Crusher called him to suggest a stroll on the holodeck before dinner. Nevertheless, he agreed to meet her there at 1900 hours.

She was already waiting for him when he arrived, and together they entered through the large sliding doors. A narrow path presented itself in front of them, winding its way through a forest dappled with afternoon sunlight. The smell of spring hung in the air, and Picard could see dozens of colorful small flowers blooming beneath the trees.

Crusher took his arm and they began to walk, the holodeck doors closing behind them and vanishing. It did not take long until they left the path, Crusher bending down every now and then to collect a couple of flowers. "Aren't these beautiful, Jean-Luc? I wish I could take them to my quarters, they would look just lovely."

"You could replicate them," he pointed out, while she collected some more especially bright examples.

"I know, but it wouldn't be the same." She ventured further, leaving him behind.

Picard looked around, closely studying his surroundings. The forest vaguely reminded him of a place he had often gone to as a child, but he supposed that the similarity was nothing but coincidence. Some trees, some flowers, and a path crossing here and there. He turned back to Crusher, a question on his lips. She was gone.

"Beverly?" He walked towards the spot where he had last seen her. "Beverly, where are you?"

"I'm right here." The voice came from directly behind him.

Picard turned in astonishment. How could she have gotten around him without him noticing?

Already she was running off again, disappearing behind an enormous tree. Its trunk was at least three meters in diameter, and it was impossible to see how far it reached upwards.

"Beverly, wait!" His attempt at pursuing her was cut short when he heard her calling him again.

This time, she reappeared about fifty meters to his right. "Jean-Luc, are you coming?"

He had not even taken one step when she was gone again, this time hiding behind a large bush. Perplexed, Picard stood in the middle of the forest, questioning his perception. How could the doctor be in so many places at the same time?

Suddenly flowers came raining down on him from above, accompanied by an unsuccessfully suppressed giggle from behind. Instinctively he whirled around, catching Beverly's arm before she could get away. His first intention was to scold her, but her by now uncontrolled laughter was quite infectious, and soon he yielded and joined in. With his free hand he picked a flower from his shirt and tucked it behind her ear, prompting more laughter from his companion.

When both of them had calmed down a bit, Picard finally relaxed his grip on Beverly's arm and eyed her curiously. "Tell me something."

"What?" She was still smiling happily, apparently quite pleased with the effects of her little charade.

"Those other images of you, they were holograms, weren't they?"

Beverly's smile deepened. "No, my dear Captain, they were not."

"Then how did you manage to change your location that quickly? You didn't use the transporter, I would have noticed that."

"I didn't, you're right on that point." The enigmatic expression never left her face.

Picard was puzzled. "Then how –" A sudden suspicion came over him. "This does not have anything to do with Q, I hope?"

Beverly shook her head vehemently. "No, it doesn't. But to give you a clue, have a look over there."

His eyes followed her pointing finger, and he gasped. Not believing what he saw, his glance returned to the woman by his side, then fell back on Crusher who had emerged from the bush that had hidden her. She was coming directly towards them.

Stopping in front of the captain, Crusher smiled and indicated Beverly with a sweep of her hand. "Jean-Luc, may I introduce you to Doctor Beverly Crusher, CMO on an alternate-universe _Enterprise_."

Beverly inclined her head in mock greeting. The captain just stared at her.

"Oh, and Jean-Luc?" Crusher continued. His eyes slowly found their way back to her, still not comprehending what was happening. "You may close your mouth now."

Both doctors giggled. If they had been younger, they would have looked like twin schoolgirls who had just succeeded in duping their teacher.

Picard shock his head, trying to clear the confusion away. "Would somebody please tell me what's going on?"

Beverly at length gathered herself enough to answer him. "When the _Enterprise _engaged the Watkin's Nebula this morning, some kind of 'sensor-sweep', as Data called it, caused me to be dislocated from my own universe and deposited in yours. I did not notice it at the time; I only found out that something was wrong when I entered my quarters this afternoon and found that there was already somebody there."

Crusher took over. "With the help of the computer, we determined that she really came aboard at the precise moment the _Enterprise _reached the nebula. Data and Geordi are already trying to figure out a way to take her back."

Picard was still skeptical. "But how come you did not suspect that anything was wrong? Surely in an alternate universe your schedule must have been somewhat different from what it was here."

"We thought about that as well," Beverly replied. "We finally discovered that these two particular universes actually were not separated until last night. Therefore, we could both start the new day under the same conditions."

Now Picard's curiosity was piqued. "You actually discovered what caused the separation and at which particular moment it occurred?"

"Yes," was Crusher's simple reply.

The captain noticed that she looked slightly uncomfortable. "How did it happen?"

"Well," Crusher began, "do you remember our dinner yesterday evening, how we talked afterwards and how I went over to the window to look out?"

He nodded.

"Then you'll also remember that I left shortly afterwards, whereas she –" She looked over at Beverly, seeking support.

The other woman was quick to jump in. "Whereas I stayed a little longer. We had another drink, talked some more, and you finally escorted me back to my cabin. That's it." She shrugged.

Picard looked incredulous. "That's it? Nothing more than another drink and some more talking caused the splitting of two universes?"

"That's the way it seems," Crusher said. "Every little decision, no matter how unimportant it may appear at the time, can change the course of history. You of all people should know that."

Picard vividly remembered the time when Q had shown him what would have become of him had he avoided the fight that had cost him his biological heart. He nodded.

"You're right." He looked at the two identical women in front of him, trying to find a way to tell them apart and discovering none, except for the flower that he had stuck in Beverly's hair earlier. "You said Data and Geordi are trying to find a way to take you back?" He inclined his head in Beverly's direction.

Both doctors nodded.

"Than all we can do is wait till they come up with a solution. How about some dinner in the meantime?"

"Wonderful idea." Crusher eagerly took hold of his arm. "I'm starving."

"So am I," Beverly agreed. "Why don't you two go ahead, and I'll follow in a couple of minutes. I don't think it would be very wise if we were seen together. Too many questions."

"You're right," Picard agreed. "We'll wait for you in my quarters. Computer, exit."

The large double doors appeared out of nowhere and Picard and Crusher walked towards them. She smiled back over her shoulder at her double and winked.

"See you in a minute."

"You can count on it," Beverly laughed, watching them disappear through the doors. She'd give them about ten minutes before leaving the holodeck herself, that should hopefully be enough to keep their little secret safe.

-==/\==-

For the rest of the evening, Picard was mostly silent. He kept alternating his glance between the two women who were chatting away at an incredible speed as if they had known each other for a long time. _Of course they have_, he chided himself, _they've actually been the same person for the greater part of their lives. _Nonetheless, he was fascinated by the absolute symmetry between them, and since they had been moving about the room quite a bit during the evening, he had long since given up trying to tell which was 'his' Beverly and which was the double from the other universe. They were both beautiful, and he was content to just be watching and listening to their conversation.

Picard's thoughts drifted back to Crusher's account of when the two universes had split apart. It suddenly struck him that she had been quite vague on that point, and he wondered if she had really told him all there was know.

They were all startled when suddenly both doctors' communicators chirped. "Data to Doctor Crusher."

"Crusher here," they acknowledged in unison, then broke out laughing at the double action.

Picard smiled.

Beverly motioned for Crusher to take the lead. "Yes, Data, have you found anything?"

"I believe we have. If you and the other Doctor Crusher would come to Transporter Room Three, Commander LaForge and I could present our results."

"We're on our way. Crusher out." She looked at her two companions. "I really hate to break up this wonderful evening, but it looks like it's time to get you home, Beverly."

_Aha_, Picard thought. _Now at least I know who's who again._

As before, they walked the corridors separately, this time Picard accompanying Beverly while Crusher followed a few minutes afterwards. When she entered the transporter room, Geordi LaForge held his breath. He thought he had been prepared for the sight, but it still held an element of surprise to see the two doctors side by side.

Data stepped forward, addressing Beverly. "I believe we have found a way to get you home, Doctor. After making a few adjustments to the transporter as we approach the edge of the particle stream, we are now fairly certain that we can simply _beam_ you back to your _Enterprise__._"

_How can he tell them apart?_ Picard wondered._ They are virtually identical, but he didn't hesitate for a second whom to address. Must be one of the advantages of being an android._

Meanwhile, Beverly cast Data a skeptical look. "You said 'fairly certain'. Does that mean that if this doesn't work, I'll find my atoms scattered throughout the galaxy?" She did not look happy at the prospect.

LaForge quickly spoke up. "I've not only made the necessary adjustments to the transporter, I've also build in an additional fail-safe. If your signal fails to be picked up by the other _Enterprise_'s transporter, you will simply be returned here. In that case, we would have to try something new."

"Sounds promising." Beverly turned to Crusher and embraced her. "I never thought it would be so nice to meet myself. Take care – and remember what I told you." She looked into her eyes, and Crusher understood.

Then Beverly turned to Picard. "Thanks for bearing with us. We just couldn't help the temptation of confusing you a little."

"You're forgiven, Doctor." He smiled. "Give my best regards to your captain. I'm sure he missed you."

Crusher was startled by that remark, but she kept her mouth shut. When Beverly stepped onto the transporter platform, Crusher remembered something. "Wait." She reached into her pocket and produced an isolinear chip which she handed to her counterpart. "The medical reports."

Beverly accepted the chip with a smile. "Thank you. That'll save me a day's work."

"You wrote half of them, anyway."

Beverly nodded thoughtfully, then put the chip into her pocket and turned to LaForge. "I'm ready."

"Good luck, Doctor." His hand moved to the controls. "Energizing now."

The doctor was enveloped in a swirling column of light for just a moment, then she vanished.

LaForge cheered. "Data, it worked!"

The android was as calm as ever. "It would appear so. I am glad we could solve the problem." They bent over the transporter's console to study the readouts and quietly discussed them among themselves.

Picard went over to Crusher, who was still staring at the platform. "Beverly?"

Her head jerked up. "Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment. Isn't it amazing what is possible with modern technology? Imagine beaming from one parallel universe to another – just like that." She snapped her fingers.

"In this case, it was only possible because we had reasonable evidence to assume that the other _Enterprise _would be very close by. I'm guessing that quantum signatures played a part as well in Data's calculations. All of that enabled LaForge to build in that extra fail-safe. Without it, we would never know what became of her."

"You're right, of course."

They had left the transporter room and, without noticing it, had arrived in front of Picard's quarters.

He motioned to the door. "Would you like another drink?"

Crusher hesitated. Beverly's words echoed in her head. _Whatever my Jean-Luc is feeling for me, yours will be feeling for you as well. Do whatever you wanted to do yesterday, and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. _Could it really be that easy? At last, she gathered all her courage and nodded. "Yes, that would be lovely."

Once inside, Picard went over to the replicator to order the drinks, while Crusher moved to the window where she had been the previous night. She was nervous and did not know what to do, so she just stood there and waited for him to come over and hand her her glass.

"To safe returns," Picard said, and Crusher nodded, clinking her glass against his.

She turned back to the stars, his close proximity making her even more nervous than before.

They stood in silence for a long time, until he finally ventured to speak. "Beverly, may I ask you something?"

Her hands started trembling, but her voice remained steady. "Sure. What is it?"

He took a step forward. "When you – the two of you – told me about how your two universes split apart, I got the impression that you were not telling me everything."

"What do you mean?"

He moved even closer, now almost touching her. "I mean that maybe something else happened last night, something between them, something that you didn't want to tell me about."

He was so close now, she could feel his breath on her neck. "Jean-Luc, I don't know what you're –"

"Beverly, look at me." He turned her to face him, and looked directly into her eyes. "After they had dinner last night, what happened?"

Crusher was helplessly lost in his gaze. "They... I... I mean, she –"

He kissed her.

Their lips touched very gently at first, but when he felt her respond, he pulled her closer into his embrace. The kiss deepened and became longer, until they finally broke apart, both breathless.

"How did you know?" she questioned him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"That they did a little more than just talk after dinner last night? I think it was the way she looked at me when you told the story about the splitting universes, and the fact that she had approached me quite... intimately on the bridge this afternoon, to remind me of a dinner arrangement I knew nothing about. Of course I didn't know at that time that it wasn't you, and thought it was part of some kind of game you were playing with me." He hugged her closely and kissed the top of her head. "Once I had convinced myself that she had obviously started a relationship with _my _counterpart in that universe of hers, I started contemplating something similar for us. And I could see that you were, too."

"Was it really that obvious?" Crusher was glad that he could not see her blush.

"The last confirmation I needed was when she remarked to you to 'remember what she told you'. You probably didn't notice, but for a split second she looked at me while she said that."

"I did notice, and I wondered whether you would, too."

He pulled back to face her again. "So tell me, what did they do after that first kiss?"

Laughing, she pressed closer and linked her hands behind his neck. "I can't tell you all the secrets, you'll have to find some of them out by yourself!"

And kissing her again, he did.

-==/ The End \==-


End file.
